Impact Cuts High-Grade Mexican Silver

VANCOUVER — As Impact Silver (IPT-V, ISVLF-O) announces results of a 54-hole drill campaign at the Capire target on its Mamatla property in Mexico, it says there may be potential for an open-pit mine exploiting the small silver-gold and polymetallic zone.

Mineralized intercepts within the volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit ranged between about 2 metres and 12 metres, and silver grades typically varied between about 100 and 500 grams silver per tonne, though narrower intercepts included silver hits of more than 1,000 grams.

In the centre of the mineralized area, hole 2 cut 4 metres grading 338 grams silver, 0.8 gram gold per tonne, 0.6% copper, 3.1% lead and 7.1% zinc starting at 34 metres depth.

Hole 30, collared about 100 metres northwest, returned 3 metres grading 385 grams silver, 1 gram gold, 0.1% copper, 1% lead and 2.1% zinc starting 8 metres down-hole. That intercept included a 0.2-metre section that graded 4,210 grams silver.

Hole 55, drilled about 100 metres southwest of hole 2, cut 6 metres of 127 grams silver, 0.5 gram gold, 0.2% copper, 1% lead and 2.3% zinc beginning 41 metres below surface.

The longest intercept came from hole 52, which returned 12 metres grading 136 grams silver, 1.1 gram gold, 0.1% copper, 0.7% lead and 1.9% zinc starting 58 metres down-hole.

In a press release, Impact detailed the results of 10 of 24 holes. The company says it concentrated drilling in a 350 by 150-metre area with a tight 25 by 50-metre grid.

The shallow depth and orientation of the mineralized area leads Impact to suggest the Capire zone might be mined via an open pit. The Capire zone is a few hundred metres away from another target Impact has drilled, Aurora-I, which has returned similar grades to Capire.

George Gorzynski, Impact’s vice-president of exploration, says the company has submitted the data on Capire and Aurora-I to its engineers who will conduct an in-house assessment of the zones, including pit optimization.

Gorzynski says the company is considering an 18-to 24-month commissioning horizon.

Impact will also continue stepping out at Capire and Aurora-I, both of which are open to the south.

The 200-sq.-km Mamatla property is about 100 km southwest of Mexico City and is adjacent to its 125-sq.-km Zacualpan concessions, where it operates several small mines primarily focused on silver extraction.

It runs ore through its Guadalupe processing facility on its Zacualpan property.

On news of the exploration results, Impact’s share price had lost 4¢ and traded at 53¢ at presstime. It has 47.8 million shares outstanding.